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AI Agent Workflow

An automated news aggregation and summarization workflow that uses AI to collect, analyze, and deliver personalized daily news summaries from multiple RSS feeds, with optional email delivery.

Purpose

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This workflow serves users who want to stay informed with current events without information overload. It automatically processes news from multiple sources, filters out distressing content, and provides concise summaries of the most important developments in world and tech news from the past 24 hours.

How It Works

  1. Manual Trigger: The workflow starts when manually triggered
  2. RSS Feed Collection: Simultaneously fetches news from The Verge (tech news) and BBC World News RSS feeds
  3. AI Processing: An OpenAI-powered agent analyzes all collected articles using the configured RSS feed tools
  4. Content Filtering: The AI excludes sad/distressing news and comments, focusing on major developments
  5. Summary Generation: Creates a structured summary with "World News" and "Tech News" sections, up to 10 bullet points each
  6. Output Processing: Formats the final summary for delivery
  7. Optional Email Delivery: Can send the summary via Gmail (requires credential setup)

Workflow Diagram

graph TD
    A[Workflow trigger] --> B[AI Summary Agent]
    C[Get Tech News] -.->|ai_tool| B
    D[Get World News] -.->|ai_tool| B
    E[OpenAI Model] -.->|ai_languageModel| B
    B --> F[Output News summary]
    F --> G[Send summary with Gmail]

Trigger

  • Type: Manual Trigger
  • Activation: Workflow must be manually started each time
  • Frequency: On-demand execution

Nodes Used

Node Type Node Name Purpose
Manual Trigger Workflow trigger Initiates the workflow execution
RSS Feed Read Tool Get Tech News Fetches technology news from The Verge RSS feed
RSS Feed Read Tool Get World News Fetches world news from BBC News RSS feed
OpenAI Chat Model OpenAI Model Provides GPT-4.1-mini language model for AI processing
AI Agent AI Summary Agent Orchestrates news analysis and summary generation
Set Output (News summary) Formats and stores the final summary output
Gmail Send summary with Gmail Sends the summary via email (optional)

External Services & Credentials Required

Required Services

  • OpenAI API: For AI-powered news analysis and summarization
    • Model: GPT-4.1-mini
    • Credential: OpenAI API key

Optional Services

  • Gmail: For email delivery of summaries
    • Credential: Gmail OAuth or App Password

RSS Feeds (No credentials required)

  • The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml
  • BBC World News: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/world/rss.xml

Environment Variables

No custom environment variables are required. The workflow uses: - $today - Built-in n8n variable for current date context

Data Flow

Input

  • RSS feed data from The Verge (technology news)
  • RSS feed data from BBC News (world news)
  • Current date context

Processing

  • AI agent analyzes articles using RSS feed tools
  • Filters content based on predefined criteria
  • Generates structured summary with categorized bullet points

Output

  • Formatted text summary containing:
    • "World News" section with up to 10 bullet points
    • "Tech News" section with up to 10 bullet points
    • Focus on major developments from the last 24 hours
    • Exclusion of distressing or sad news

Error Handling

The workflow includes basic error handling through n8n's built-in mechanisms: - RSS feed failures will prevent the AI agent from accessing those tools - OpenAI API errors will halt summary generation - Gmail delivery failures are isolated to the email step

No custom error handling paths are implemented in this workflow.

Known Limitations

  • Manual trigger only - requires manual execution for each summary
  • Dependent on external RSS feed availability
  • OpenAI API rate limits may affect execution
  • Gmail integration requires additional credential setup
  • Content filtering relies on AI interpretation of "sad or distressing" news
  • Limited to two news sources (The Verge and BBC)

No related workflows specified in the current context.

Setup Instructions

1. Import Workflow

  1. Copy the workflow JSON
  2. In n8n, go to Workflows → Import from JSON
  3. Paste the JSON and save

2. Configure OpenAI Credentials

  1. Open the "OpenAI Model" node
  2. Create new OpenAI API credential or use existing n8n free credits
  3. Ensure GPT-4.1-mini model access

3. Optional: Configure Gmail

  1. Open the "Send summary with Gmail" node
  2. Create Gmail credential (OAuth recommended)
  3. Set recipient email address
  4. Test email delivery

4. Test the Workflow

  1. Click "Test workflow" or use manual trigger
  2. Verify RSS feeds are accessible
  3. Check AI summary generation
  4. Confirm email delivery (if configured)

5. Customize (Optional)

  • Modify RSS feed URLs in the respective nodes
  • Adjust AI prompt in the "AI Summary Agent" node
  • Change email subject/format in Gmail node
  • Add scheduling trigger for automated execution